It is common to transport extension ladders on top of vehicles such as vans and pickup trucks. A problem associated with the transporting ladders is the inconvenience of placing the ladders atop of the vehicles and then holding them stationary during travel. One end of the ladder at a time is ordinarily placed on the rack and it is a problem to hold the first end on the rack while the other end is being lifted into place. Once the ladder is atop of the rack it is ordinarily free to move about and produces objectionable rattling noises but more importantly, causes abrasive wear on the ladder and the rack and is dangerous since it may become detached from the rack and fall to the ground. Accordingly, a simplified rack is needed that will facilitate mounting the ladders on top of vehicles and then yieldably hold the ladders still against movement and abrasive wear during transport but yet be easy to remove as desired. The ladder rack of this invention accomplishes these objectives.